John Trueman wins privacy victory at BC Court of Appeal
The BC Court of Appeal struck down a section of BC’s child protection law that gives social workers unfettered access to personal health information held by public bodies.
In a 3-0 decision, the Court found that section 96(1) of the Child, Family, and Community Service Act was an unconstitutional infringement of section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees that “everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.”
Along with Paul LeBlanc and Susan E. Ross, Allen/McMillan Litigation Counsel associate, John Trueman, represented T.L., a mother of three with a history of trauma and mental health struggles. When T.L. sought to regain custody of her children, social workers issued demands for her medical records and those of her family to the local hospital and a family services agency from which she had been receiving services. The requested records dated back years before she had children. T.L. challenged the constitutionality of the law which, she said, made her less comfortable confiding in doctors and others who sought to help her.
Writing for a unanimous division, Justice DeWitt-Van Oosten held that British Columbians have a high expectation of privacy in their medical records, and that s. 96(1) is not minimally intrusive because it allows the collection of a broad range of medical records without any meaningful oversight. As such, she declared that the law is “of no force or effect,” but suspended the declaration of invalidity for 12 months to allow the Legislature to fashion a new law.
AMLC’s John Trueman maintains a broad litigation practice with a focus on appellate and public law litigation. He has a keen interest in privacy issues. As the former Vice-Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Constitutional and Civil Liberties Section, he collaborates with noteworthy counsel — in this case, family lawyer, Paul LeBlanc and privacy expert, Susan E. Ross — to help take on challenging issues. This was his first time delivering oral argument in the Court of Appeal.
For more information on Allen/McMillan’s appellate advocacy and public law litigation practices, please contact John at john@amlc.ca. For more information on this case, visit 2023 BCCA 167 and for additional press coverage visit here and here.